'Lonely Kid' nominated for 2017 Music PEI and ECMA awards

Electronic musician Mark Skinner may be known by his musical moniker "Lonely Kid," but lately he's been making a lot of friends.

He was recently picked up by an American label, and is now nominated for two 2017 Music PEI and one ECMA award.

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Skinner said he'd just started working a new desk job and was trying to make a good impression when his phone went off with congratulations about the nominations, which made concentrating difficult.

"I'm beaming ear to ear, anyhow, my desk kind of faces down this hallway and there's this lady coming up and I was probably staring at her for 10 to 15 seconds before I realize we are making direct eye contact," he told CBC Mainstreet P.E.I.

"So I had to get out of there and just go for a walk to just calm down a bit."

Signing on with a label

Despite his nominations, Skinner said some people may have trouble finding his new EP Dancing Just To Be Cool online.

It was picked up by The Tipsy Tortoise, the U.S. label he signedwith, so he had to take the album down for a while, he said.

Skinner said he previously shied away from joining a label because he didn't wantothers to influence his music.

"But I figured this was probably the right time and the right move," he said, adding that a label can give artists more exposure or connect them with agents and managers.

Music remains a hobby

Skinner is now working on the upcoming release of Dancing Just To Be Cool, which he co-wrote with Josh Carter, and he also has a few other songs in the works.

Last year, his first EP For My Friends was also nominated for one ECMA and three Music PEIawards.

• 'Lonely Kid' Mark Skinner nominated for 1ECMA, 3 Music PEI Awards

But Skinner said he likes the balance of working and then going home and writing music as an outlet, so music will likely remain a hobby and not become a full-time job.

"It's always been personal. For the longest time I never shared anything I made with people," he said.

"So sending it out to people and doing it full-time would be just way too much pressure for me."

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